IBT Staff Reporter

The Obama administration will hold Toyota President Akio Toyoda to his word that the carmaker is working hard to address all safety issues, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on Tuesday.

Emission cuts pledges made by 60 countries will not be enough to keep the average global temperature rise at 2 degrees Celsius or less, modeling released on Tuesday by the United Nations says.

A senior member of al Qaeda's Yemen wing who the Yemeni government said it killed has emerged on an internet forum, threatening to carry out attacks in the United States.

The United Arab Emirates has identified four more suspects who carried British and Irish passports in the Dubai killing of a Hamas commander, a source familiar with the investigation said on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama made a last-ditch bid to revive his stalled healthcare overhaul on Monday with a plan to make insurance more affordable and to bolster government authority to regulate premium hikes.

The liberal grass-roots group ACORN is reeling after scandals that have hurt its fund-raising ability and prompted its big New York and California chapters to quit and set up fresh organizations.

The Obama administration heralded new rules protecting U.S. credit card holders from certain fees and rate increases on Monday, even as Connecticut's Attorney General criticized the Federal Reserve for not using the rules to reverse earlier card rate hikes.

An Obama administration spokesman on Monday stressed the importance of independent authority for a proposed U.S. financial consumer watchdog and said where it was housed was another issue.

The number of American soldiers killed in Afghanistan has reached 1,000, an independent website said on Tuesday, a grim reminder that eight years of fighting has failed to defeat Taliban insurgents.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was hospitalized on Monday after experiencing chest pains, and his office said he was resting comfortably while doctors evaluated the situation.

NATO must boost security cooperation with Russia and streamline operations to face new challenges -- both military and civilian -- in coming years, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday.

Space programs, aircraft and ship maintenance, and helicopter upgrades are among $1.8 billion in priority weapons programs that were not funded in the Pentagon's fiscal 2011 budget, the military services told Congress in documents released Monday.

Toyota Motor Corp, struggling with a fast-moving crisis that has tarnished its reputation for quality, is set to face U.S. lawmakers this week seeking answers about the cause of the largest carmaker's safety woes and how it handled evidence of the problems.

The Federal Trade Commission said Monday that it uncovered rampant data breaches across various institutions as members of those institutions engaged in swapped files over the Internet.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday of data expected to show a fall in consumer confidence and as investors awaited data on the health of the key housing market.

A colleague I just met at work has invited me to be their friend on Facebook. I don't want to offend them, but nor do I want to share my candid photos and lousy Scrabble scores with someone I hardly know.

China's Tengzhong could use an offshore vehicle to buy General Motors' Hummer brand if it fails to win Chinese regulatory approval for the ambitious but controversial plan that has met with cooling government appetite.

The cellphone market will rebound more strongly strongly than expected this year as improving economies boost spending on new gadgets and handset vendors push cheap smartphones, research firm Gartner said on Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Corp's woes deepened ahead of its testimony to Congress as it revealed it faces a U.S. criminal probe into the handling of its massive safety recalls, while Japan voiced concern over the economic impact of the automakers' problems.

China's BYD Co Ltd , backed by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett, aims to sharply boost its car exports this year, banking on improving demand as the global economy recovers, an executive said on Tuesday.

A German economics professor and euro critic plans to take legal action if Germany and other European Union countries grant financial aid to debt-stricken Greece, he said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.

A group of about 150 trade union protesters blocked entrances to the Athens stock exchange building on Tuesday but bourse officials said they expected trade to go ahead normally.

World stocks hit three-week highs while the dollar eased on Tuesday as markets anticipated a dovish tone from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke after the central bank raised its discount rate last week.

Heineken NV , the world's third-largest brewer, forecast lower beer consumption in many regions, limited price increases and few cost benefits this year after reporting 2009 results broadly in line with expectations.

Morgan Stanley is in late stage talks to sell its stake in China International Capital Corp to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and TPG Capital for more than $1 billion, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

Most Asian stock markets recouped early losses on Tuesday while the dollar was trapped in a tight range as investors waited for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to shed light on how soon key U.S. interest rates may start to rise.

Asian shares turned lower on Tuesday and the dollar was trapped in a tight range as investors waited for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to shed light on how soon key interest rates may start to rise.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc will buy the fledgling Vudu online movie on-demand service, in a deal expected to close within weeks and pit the world's largest retailer against the likes of Netflix Inc.

Oilfield services leader Schlumberger Ltd aims to gain market share in shale gas drilling with its purchase of rival Smith International Inc, and expects few antitrust hurdles for the takeover.